Finalists named for public art project on W. Wisconsin Ave.

An online journal about visual art, the urban landscape and design. Mary Louise Schumacher, the Journal Sentinel's art and architecture critic, leads the discussion and a community of writers contribute to the dialogue.

Colorful cellophane murals, 100 billowing Bronze Fonzes, a beer garden to support artists and something called FaceBOX are among the dozen finalists named Monday for a public art -- or placemaking -- initiative to take place on W. Wisconsin Ave. next summer and fall.

In May, ArtPlace America, a consortium of national and regional foundations and banks that works with the National Endowment for the Arts and other federal agencies, awarded a $350,000 grant for the "Creational Trails" proposal, which is being overseen by two local groups, Art Milwaukee and beintween.

The project calls for activating two sites, a 10-block stretch of W. Wisconsin Ave. and a former rail corridor that connects the Harambee and Riverwest neighborhoods. The idea is to turn both sites into more welcoming, walkable and bikeable places.

In October, Art Milwaukee, which is coordinating the W. Wisconsin Ave. project, put out a "call for placemakers," which it defined broadly as "artists, designers, engineers and technicians from almost any industry." The group invited ideas for creative projects that would engage the public and bring interest and a sense of identity to Wisconsin Ave., the city's once vibrant artery.

The call resulted in 167 proposals which were winnowed down to 12. The finalists will pitch their ideas at City Hall at a public event on Dec. 10. Each team will have five minutes to make their case, and a jury of art and public space experts will select two to four winners. The selected projects will be funded and become part of a series of events on W. Wisconsin Ave. in 2014, including a camp out on the street in June. »Read Full Blog Post

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"Creational Trails" is an excellent concept for urban / suburban / ex-urban renewal!!! Jury selection should be just as stringent as a Milwaukee County Justice system selection (without the "roadblock" lawyers)!

HI SFScott, that's a legitimate question. My sense is that ArtMilwaukee hopes to provide more details at its web site before long. The information I got was fairly minimal. I think the best way to find out about these projects will be to attend the Dec.10 event and to hear about them from the artists themselves. That's only a week away.

Mary this competition has al the earmarks of a hidden agenda bordering on fraud. My attempts to submit failed several times ala Obamacare. Time and time again I sent email asking quesitons none of which were answered. There was no listing for any entrants at the creationaltrails website or any other I am aware of that being I contend a de facto standard so as to assure entrants that their submissions were received presumably to provide assurance their entry would be evaluated as well as let everybody know who the competition is assuring all that the competition is honest anmd fair.

I did attend the Dec. 10th event and asked a photographer to point out "the guy in charge" whom I then approached and asked why our entries were not being listing on any website. As he turned to walk away so I could ask his name that being the next logical question he told me they decided it would not be allowed as it would be a copyright violation.

So I ask you, when you look at that picture of yourself used as an avatar do you see a fool staring back at you?

Its too late now as I've disclosed that I had a submission so they can come along and claim "oh yea we saw and evaluated his submission" but quite frankly as a former architect I've been in many such competitions in the past and this one has been the stinkiest I've ever had to hold my nose to try to cope with.

so it takes $164,000 to be able to administer and promote this project, and if you assume the standard 2/3 of artist payment will go to the costs of producing the works, the artists will only see $62,000 of $350,000?

Who picked the judges panel? You have a former mayor, an art consultant, an administrator, a director/producer, a curator, another director and an environmental superintendent? What the heck! We have colleges filled with art profs, architecture firms, Frank Lloyd Wrights school staff, artists of renown and your placing the judging of this in the hands of this group!!! Go down to the art institute here in town and grab a bunch of teachers, go up to UWM and tell them you want the entire art department there to participate.......what the heck???!!! That's why we have that orange crosshair at the end of Wisconsin avenue

I submitted a Creation Trails entry "Milwaukee Interactive Medallion Project" which can be reviewed at http://metromilwaukee.com/clintongallagher/projects/creation-trails

Much secrecy was involved in this competition and it has been corrupt and unfair to take the web page(s) down and not list all of the entrants for public review. Ihave no idea if my submission was even seen and evaluated.

What you will see in the Interactive Milwaukee Medallion Project video and images is one -proven- way adopted by other cities revitilizing their downtown CBDs as downtowns are all about business which is why they are called CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICTS.

The cities around America struggling to survive and regain growth are not spending money on eye candy that has no return on investment because art per se is what it is from an appreciative perspective but it has done little to nothing to reverse the trend of going out of business signs, vacant storefronts or a dead mall's business destroyed by the ongoing presence of violent predators, this last concern being the -real- reason downtown Milwaukee is once again in dire straights.

Maybe we should invite the three different CAUCASIAN business travelers visiting Milwaukee that were slapped around and robbed outside of the Hyatt the weekend of Halloween by predatory "disadvantaged youth" which is not being reported by the local news media so as to avoid being called racists. Let's talk to them about a "walkable" downtown.

I'm sure our wise "civic leaders" and "news" media's ongpolicy of silence will resolve the real problems on W. Wisconsin Avenue. I know I've tried but haven't even been given a fighting chance...

I checked the blog on their website: here is a rundown of each finalists' project, with more press and 2 to 3 visuals to come on the 9th: http://creationaltrails.com/2013/12/the-avenue-announces-top-12-finalists/

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